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Blessing in Disguise

I really do not like having life mess with my plans. (My husband, Joe, and my parents are probably laughing hysterically already). Coming home to a messy house, a call from the school, a cancelled appointment, a spill down the front of my shirt – any of these things – can get the best of me. I was reminded today that I often don’t see what happens as a result of an unforeseen change-of-plans. These changes can, and often do, create greater blessing than we will ever know. I just so happened to have the privilege of knowing about the other end/side of one of these “things didn’t go as planned” moments.

Recently, I have had the privilege of getting to know Julie through Facebook and Skype. She has an amazing story and she is walking through her story in an extraordinary manner. She was scheduled to have surgery, so I decided to order her flowers and have them sent to the hospital. (I live in Michigan and she lives in Oregon). The surgery was quite major and I was under the impression that Julie would remain at the hospital for at least a week, so scheduling the flowers for five days later seemed reasonable.

On flower delivery day I received a call from the man in charge of shipping and receiving at the hospital. He said, “Nobody by that name is here.” Then he did something unheard of (unheard of to me). After he did some checking, he wondered if I would like to have the flowers delivered to her home. Really? Yes sir, please and thank you. He didn’t even ask for an address (which was good because I didn’t have one).

What had happened? Julie was released from the hospital after four days, then headed from Corvalis, Oregon to Seattle, Washington for another procedure. She arrived home several days later. This is what happened next, in Julie’s own words:

“So here’s life doing what life does – which usually works out so much better than I could have planned. I just got home – feeling drained – sick of feeling sick and tired of infusions, tired of doctors and pretty much have felt like I was on the sinking ship by myself. There sits this box on the stairs. Something else I need to get up to my room. Literally in tears I open this box and out pops this amazing plant and planter, which totally did their job in adding a smile to my face. Reminding me to press on – this is when recovery gets hard. The perfect thing happens to what I assume could only be against your plan as the hospital sent it to me from there. Thank you a million times! I am now reminded to be extraordinary and why sometimes our timing isn’t everything. It was perfectly needed today!”

Bouquet from ProFlowers.com

Julie’s story is my reminder that next time things don’t seem to be going according to my perfect little plan, there is another side to the story. And most likely it is a blessing in disguise — or at least that’s the way I will choose to see it.